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wine; sit back and contemplate the aroma. Don't try to "taste" the wine yet, concentrate only on what you smell.

Don't worry that you cannot express yourself or that you feel inadequate in finding the words to describe what you are sniffing or tasting. It may be difficult to describe in words when you're a novice, but after trying many wines you will notice similarities and differences. Sometimes a certain smell will be very strong with underlying hints of other smells. Take your time. By labeling an aroma you will probably remember it better. You may even want to keep a notebook of your impressions of wines, and save the labels; next time you see the wine you won't have to purchase it to know if you like it . . . or you don't! That is one of the most important things that can come out of developing a wine tasting skill. What not to buy!

The color of wine varies tremendously, even within the same type of wine. For example, white wines are not actually white; they range from green to yellow to brown. More color in a white wine usually indicates more flavor and age, although a brown wine may have gone bad. One must remember as time improves many red wines, it ruins most white wines. Red wines are not just red; they range from a pale red to a deep brown red, usually becoming lighter in color as they age.

There is a term called "Rim Color" and you can guess the age of a red wine by observing its "rim." Tilt the glass slightly and look at the edge of the wine. A purple tint may indicate youth while orange to brown indicates maturity.

Have you ever tried desperately to detect flavor from a food or beverage when you had a terrible cold? You probably tasted very little, if anything at all. Research indicates that 70 to 75% of what we taste is actually due to our sense of smell. Specialized "aroma" nerves in the nose are necessary to identify tastes more subtle than sweet, sour, bitter and salty. Smell and taste go hand-in-hand when wine tasting . . . without your sense of smell you would be unable to detect the delicate flavors of chocolate, herbs or smoke in your wine.

Tilt the glass towards your face and put your nose inside the glass. You should bend your head slightly forward and tip the glass to a 45 degree angle. Now inhale gently for about 4 seconds bearing in mind that the scent from the wine may vary during one sniff.

People often wonder why wine experts pull funny faces when taking a mouthful but there is a very important reason for doing this. After taking a

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